By Sachit Subba • Volleyball • Aug 19, 2026 12:35 PM • 55 views
Extreme Energy has now been named as the title sponsor on the front of the jerseys in Nepal's first men's franchise volleyball league. On Wednesday, the Nepal Volleyball League (NVL) announced that Extreme Energy will be the tournament's title sponsor, concluding a three-year agreement valued at about NPR 2.75 crore a day before the match began.
The agreement was put into effect at a signing ceremony at which Extreme Energy's Business Head, Sonia Rana, and NVL's Managing Director, Ashwin Kedia, signed the deal. The event's organisers, who were acting under the Kedia Group flag, described it as a pivotal moment for a sport which has for a long time been overshadowed by cricket and football in Nepal. NVL's Chief Executive Officer, Santosh Upadhyaya, confirmed the financial details of the multi-year agreement, presenting it as a long-term commitment to the league's development rather than a single marketing campaign.
Bharat Shah, vice president of the Nepal Volleyball Association, welcomed the arrangement, saying the new professional system could reform the sport's national development pathway. For an organisation accustomed to working with small budgets, it is a rare thing to have a corporate anchor sponsor commit to providing support for three years.
It also put an end to the remaining uncertainty concerning the tournament timetable. At first the event was scheduled for Bhadra 4 to 13, but last Friday the Kedia Group changed those dates since the covered hall in Tripureshwar could not be used during that period. The new schedule has the first edition running from Bhadau 19 to 27, all taking place within the same covered hall.
The first season will see six teams taking part: the Khaptad Falcons, the Madhesh Warriors, the Sagarmatha Smashers, the Kathmandu Reds, the Annapurna Spike Kings, and the Karnali Shivraj. Squad building has already been completed — on Saun 10 a domestic player auction saw the six ownership groups together purchase 42 local players, thus filling their rosters before the start date, which had been delayed but is now confirmed.
Once the sponsorship has been secured and the schedule finalised, the question becomes whether Nepal's volleyball situation can maintain the franchise system in the manner that cricket's domestic T20 leagues have. The fact that a title sponsor has agreed to stay for three editions gives the NVL a financial head start which most new leagues in the area do not have from the beginning – the real challenge begins when the first point is taken in Tripureshwar.
